Below are some ways you can work online and not leave the house, aka be a WAHM, AND without having to worry about any inventory.
Affiliate Sales
This is my favorite way to earn an income from blogging so far. And I have the most experience at. As you know I wrote about affiliate selling in my last post and I am sure there will be more to come.
Google AdSense
Basically ads for you site from Google, and you do not need a minimum amount of traffic. Yet, let me also confess, you do need a great amount of traffic to make a good living using Adsense.
I earn some extra cash with Google AdSense through my Hubpages account and my Blogger blogs. It did not happen overnight and it is still not paying the bills but every month my account grows. When I get my first check, I’ll be sure to post it.
You can also earn using Google Ads on Niche sites.
Tips:
-Get to know SEO techniques well. You will need a lot of traffic to your site in order to earn a living.
-Never click on your own ads. That is the quickest way to get banned.
I Recommend:
Sunil from Extra Money Blog explains beautifully how to earn with Google Ads.
7 Good Reasons Why Google AdSense Sucks Cautionary tips to avoid.
Advertise on Your Blog
When you start getting decent traffic to your blog you can sell space on it for advertising. Many blogs can earn an income doing this successfully.
I am still up in the air about advertising on RWAHM. I am very picky about what goes in my sidebar and margins. And, frankly, some advertisers are selling crap. I want nothing to do with that. Yes, I know I can control who I advertise for but I don’t know if I want to deal with advertisers yet.
Tips:
-Don’t attempt to advertise until you have a solid history on your site. Companies want a solid blog to advertise on, not one that will disappear the day after they pay you.
-The subject matter of the blog and how many visits you get monthly determines the quality and quantity of advertisers. Some will advertise on your blog with as little as 100 visits a day yet some will consider 10,000/day. Do your research. Check out other blogs in your niche to see who they advertise.
-Have a page for “Advertise Here” with numbers representing your page views and visits per month.
I Recommend:
Sell Direct Advertising On Your Blog Using This System
How Much Should You Charge for Advertising on Your Blog?
Consulting
Do you have an expertise in something? In your past life (before kids) were you the fitness expert? The marketing maniac? The bookkeeper who kept the books perfect?
Those talents are not lost just because you decided to stay home with the kids. Earn some extra cash online doing something you love.
Tips:
-Consulting is not what we in the online business consider “passive income”. Consulting takes a lot of your time not only to gain clients but also to keep them.
-To get great exposure and prove you know your subject, frequent forums and blogs that are in your niche and compliment it. Leave amazing comments and content behind. Soon people will seek you out.
I Recommend:
Starting an Online Consulting Business
Virtual Assistant (VA)
I heard that virtual assistants are in hot demand these days. These are people that take on tasks for others from a remote location. (I’m thinking a tropical island? Maybe?)
Tips:
-Start a website/blog to get your name out there, you need to put the “virtual” in the assistant.
-Be super organized (or at least look like you are) because the person or company hiring you is hiring you for just that.
I Recommend:
4 Tips to Become a Virtual Assistant
6 Companies that Offer Virtual Assistant Jobs
Freelance Jobs
Much like consulting you should have a good knowledge of your industry before you jump into freelancing online. And much like virtual assistants, many types of freelancers are in hot demand. Freelancers are web designers, writers, programmers, researchers and sometimes even fun jobs.
Tips:
-Build a portfolio online and off, your clients will want to see what you have done, especially if you are new to them with no online history.
-Be detail oriented. Ask for definite dates, times and details to your new jobs. You do not want bad reviews and lost jobs because a client didn’t give details. Ask everything.
I Recommend:
46 Productivity Tips for Freelancers Wow! 46 Links to some amazing bloggers and freelance experts. The post is from 2008 so if the links don’t work the site itself is a great resource.
Fiverr Five dollars for smaller, sometimes more fun, jobs
Taking Surveys
Personally I do not like taking surveys. I did them when my children were smaller and lost patience. But I firmly believe that is because I didn’t know what I was doing and there were barely any references I could read about them back then.
Now I know more about surveys (still don’t want to do them) and I can pass some info onto you.
If you like to give your opinion and are willing to put some time in, survey taking is a good job. It can blossom into more work in panels that pay more and/or free stuff.
Tips:
-Always be truthful. If you lie the agency can and most likely will delete your account.
-There are many sites to do surveys, yet some are not reputable. Survey Police has been around for a long time and are very trustworthy. Before you join a survey agency check with them first. You do not want to be the victim of spammers and info sellers.
-Join as many as you can to make your odds greater at earning. Many surveys only pay $1-3. I have heard of more but that is usually seasoned survey takers with a history with the company.
I Recommend:
Reputable Survey Agencies:
http://www.pineconeresearch.com/ Only by invite so keep an eye out for banners and posts when they open invitations.
Posts:
Anna has a whole category for paid surveys.
Final Words
All of these ways to work on the Internet from home are legitimate but that does not mean overnight success or even success at all. You must work hard for what you earn online.
I would also like to suggest you work on one at a time. Last year I was writing for Hubpages, maintaining a few blogs, and doing work at Swagbucks, among all the other smaller tasks. It was too much work. I decided my blog and the content here was most important to me and most rewarding so for the last 6 months that is what I have been concentrating on.
Don’t stretch yourself too thin, especially in the beginning of your journey. Get to know one type of online work and do it well. When that blossoms you can put it on maintenance mode and try more ventures. It is too much work to stretch so thin.
Or you can always hire a VA…
How do you work on the Internet?
Did I miss any more ways to work from home online?
Latest posts by Allie (see all)
- Getting Closer to Your Readers and Customers with an Email List - May 21, 2013
- Getting More Fans by Linking Your Facebook Page to Your Profile - May 16, 2013
- Online WAHM Marketing: Start Your Email List Today - May 14, 2013
Welcome! I'm Allie. I help WAHMs get their businesses noticed online. Feel free to look around. New here? Check out 
Hi Allie. I’m looking at more ways to do affiliates. They are so many ways. Text, reviews, banners, ecommerce sites, etc. What have you found to be the best way? I’d add eBooks to your list. On my to do list.
I have not done much with others. Nice ideas, thanks for sharing.
Lisa created this awesome post: Is Your Keyword Density Making A Difference?
Lisa,
So far, for me, just simply writing about products on my blog is getting me a few sales. I need to do more reviews instead of just mentioning them in passing in my posts. I am still experimenting and it takes time unfortunately. I have to figure out how to analyze conversions instead of being blind to what works.
What do you mean by ecommerce sites? Is that sites dedicated strictly to one product? Maybe my brain is fried and I can’t remember or I just don’t know. Ha ha.
And, yes, ebook is a biggie. I know people really made it when their own product, like an ebook, is doing well. I need to jump on that opportunity too.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: Work on the Internet: 7 Ways to Work from Home Online
Thanks, Allie! I used to do a lot of translation work from home. I didn’t want to leave for long hours and leave my girls in with a sitter.
I now have a full-time job, but I also do copywriting as well as academic and corporate proofreading/editing.
Tips? To find jobs, word of mouth seems to work better than some other channels, so spread the word. Choose interesting documents with content that you can learn from. Agree on reasonable deadlines and commit to them.
Looking forward to your next post!
Radhia,
I wish I could translate for a living, that would be great. But I doubt anyone wants my broken Spanish. Ha ha! That is the best I could do at a Second language.
Yes, I agree with you completely, I would sat word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to get more work. That is how my husband gets more clients for his business. Online it is a bit harder to market via word of mouth but it is possible to do.
Thanks so much for coming by and commenting.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: Masking Your Links is Not Dirty Business
Pretty awesome post, Allie. And thanks for the mentions.
Selling your own products, whether physical or digital, can certainly add another income stream. The more money makers the better, just don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Angie Nelson created this awesome post: Getting Paid to Blog: 70 Companies That Pay You To Post Their Links Or Ads
Angie,
I am working on creating my own ebooks. The ideas are still in their infancy but that is one of my goals is to create my own products. If they do well I will feel like I have more financial freedom than being an affiliate and relying on others to create for my income.
And you are right. It is very easy to bite off more than one can chew online. So many options but if we do too many it waters all of them down and then we generally get no results.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: 4 Tips for Bloggers to Make the Most of Pinterest
These are great options. I also like to recommend elance.com and guru.com as great freelancing sites.
Renae created this awesome post: Social Media in Business – Which One is Best?
Renae,
Yes! We cannot forget both or those reputable sites.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: Work on the Internet: 7 Ways to Work from Home Online
Great Points You have Mentioned Allie.
I think Freelancing(Writing)and Affiliate is the best option for me to earn passive income from home.
But yeah its need patience and hardwork too.
Thanks for share.
Amit
Amit Shaw created this awesome post: 10 Affiliate Marketing Strategies For Dropshipping Business
Amit,
I have always believed you are a hard worker and no doubt successful. And it’s that true? Patience is something us online workers definitely master.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: WAHM Support and Networking Opportunity!
Each of these take time and effort, right Allie?
They are comparable, but I think the most fruitful ones are that related to blogging – affiliate marketing, consulting and freelance jobs (I like product creation, which isn’t directly in your list, the best – it sure takes time, but at the end it all adds up).
I have tried surveys in the past (gave up too easily, because it wasn’t worth the time and money). But, now I understand that it adds up (but, I am not interested in taking surveys, because many of them are just boring!).
Jeevan Jacob John created this awesome post: Take Risks? What’s Too Risky?
Jeevan,
I get torn sometimes. I really love blogging, affiliate sales, writing and meeting people and hopefully helping them while I go through my online journey but sometimes I just want to be anonymous and maybe do a drop ship company. I think all can be done, I just have to take one at a time.
Yes, you are right, product creation is one of the best ways to earn, if done well and maintain independent income and create a strong brand for yourself and/or company.
I too gave up on surveys, they took too long. But I know some people do well with them and enjoy giving their opinion. If you work on them for a while and gain a good reputation it can pay off by getting bigger and better paying gigs.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: Work on the Internet: 7 Ways to Work from Home Online
Hi Allie,
Yes – like a Vitacost.com They only have an online business for you to buy Vitamins and other related products. They do have a blog and send out newsletters.
Lisa created this awesome post: Twitter Profile Updates and Google Changes
Lisa,
Yes. Those are like niche sites or some people call them micro-sites. They can be like blogs or just websites but really concentrate on a very small niche where there can be information and/or products sold.
That is still a prospect for me. But it seems to complicated. I get stumped while working on it. I just don’t know where to find the products to sell.
~Allie
Allie created this awesome post: Work on the Internet: 7 Ways to Work from Home Online
Hi Allie,
Selling your own products, whether physical or digital, can certainly add another income stream. The more money makers the better.
Thanks
Usman created this awesome post: Walthamstow Market: 5 Interesting Things to Know
Thanks for sharing this out Allie. I do have a blog, and it seems the traffic is isn’t enough to attract companies to do advertising on my end, maybe I need some more ingredients to attract them and bring in more traffic on my blog. However, these tips are very useful on my part as I haven’t explore some of this yet.
Wow, this is a really detailed list! Thank you so much for the mention
I have been taking paid surveys for a long time and I agree with you that ACOP and Pinecone are both top-notch companies that have been around for years.
Anna created this awesome post: Companies That Hire You as an Employee Instead of an IC
Brilliant ways to make money online from home. I think everyone should start a blog. There is something that most people is good at and they could start writing on it. Over a period of time they can apply adsense and do some internet marketing. Paid surveys is something that I have not tried before.
Shalu Sharma created this awesome post: Top chicken dishes of India
This is very true. I have experienced working online and hiring contractors. It works and it keeps things faster and simpler, depending on the jobs. Thank you for posting this. Great article!
Shane created this awesome post: Cirebon FM 89.2 Indonesia Radio Online
Great way on how to work online. I have been experienced working online and it I am successfully made it. By the way thanks for the added information in working online and it is really useful. Thanks a lot.
Maris King created this awesome post: Timber Casement Windows
I think affiliate marketing alone is such a broad topic. You can do lots of things inside the world of affiliate marketing.
I agree with you with regards to the advertising part. It took me over a year before I got emails from advertisers wanting to advertise to my blog. The only thing I haven’t done yet it hiring people to work for my online businesses. By the way Allie you list is great. I think you should write a book about your work from home experiences.
Jeff created this awesome post: WP Engine Review: The Truth Behind WP Engine Managed Hosting
Your blog made me think. I think I had got blogging all wrong. Normally people of blogosphere say content is the king but no matter how much good the content is people wont read it unless they know that it exists. And if your blog is promoted well, even though you don’t have that great content people will come to your site. It is all about promoting your site. The more you advertise about your site the more visible it is to the readers.
Jeo created this awesome post: The Corefront Guarantee
@Jeo. It’s true and I’ve found one of the best ways to get your site out there is by exchanging guest blogging.
Renae created this awesome post: 10 Social Media Blogs to Follow
Assess the overall effectiveness of your online marketing efforts by using tech tools to measure the conversion of site visitors to paying customers. Many major online companies offer a variety of easily customized integrated web add-ons and trackers that compare the number of visitors against the number of sales and repeat visitors.
Aditya created this awesome post: How To Improve Your Success In Web Marketing